“I thought maybe we would conserve water.” Her eyes opened wide and she looked up at Paden’s amused expression. He reached past her for the soap on the ledge above her head. Her heartbeat picked up as she watched him rub the soapy lather over his body.
“Hm.” Ree reached for the bottle of conditioner and tried to keep from knocking everything off the shelf in her nervousness. “Well, we might as well protect the planet in every way.”
“Right.” Stepping around her, Paden ducked under the water and rinsed the soap from his body. She watched as the soapy water ran down his chest. He peeked one eye open and chuckled. “Ree, you’re pouring conditioner on the floor.”
She looked down and realized that she was holding the bottle upside down. She snapped her mouth shut and cursed under her breath. Using her foot, she pushed the mess toward the drain. Paden slid an arm around her waist and pulled her against his chest. He pressed his chin to her shoulder and looked down at her stomach. With soft fingers, he traced the scar, making her stomach twitch. A warm glow grew from her center as she watched his hands trail over her skin.
“I’m so sorry, Ree.” His lips brushed against her temple as he leaned back and traced the scar next to her spine. “I should have stayed closer to you.”
“It wasn’t your fault, Pay. I should have been paying better attention.” The tips of his fingers felt electric, running over her skin. She turned around so that she was facing him and put her hands on his chest. The water from the shower trailed down his shoulders, over her hands and cascaded off of her arms. Very gently, he brushed the wet hair out of her face and tilted her face up so he could see her eyes.
“It won’t happen again.” Slowly, he brought his lips down to hers in a soft kiss. She twined her hands around his neck, melting against his body. It turned out to not be such a quick shower, and Ree was sure that they hadn’t conserved much water. However, it was the best shower she had ever experienced.
Later, they lay on her bed, their towels discarded on the floor. Ree propped her chin on his chest and looked up at Paden. He twirled some of her hair around his finger, a small smile playing along the edges of his content expression. She watched him, memorizing his face as if she didn’t already know it perfectly. The sounds of the others moving around the house, mingled with the sounds of the wind outside, made things seem almost peaceful for a little while. Paden chuckled, making her chin bounce.
“What?” Ree wrinkled her nose.
“I can’t believe you didn’t kill me when I got in the shower.” He tugged gently on her hair. “I was a little nervous.”
“Well, I thought about it.” Ree narrowed her eyes at him.
“Oh yeah?” Paden’s grin grew even more.
“Yeah. But I figured that we were supposed to be saving the planet and all, so you had a good case.” Ree smiled.
“You know, I don’t think it worked out the way I planned.” Paden smirked.
“Are you sure about that? Because I’m pretty sure it worked out just the way you planned.” Ree looked around at the messy room pointedly. She still couldn’t control her power when she was with Paden.
He rolled her over, so he was leaning over her. “Well, maybe some of it worked out the way I planned.”
“And what was that?” Ree stared up at him, enjoying the way the low light from the table on her nightstand played on the planes of his face.
“Did you forget already?” Paden nuzzled her neck, trailing kisses along her collar bone.
“I might need a reminder.” Ree sucked in a breath as his hands slid over her body.
“Well, I might be able to help with that.”
The wave of alarm that washed through the house had Ree scrambling to sit up before someone pounded on her door. Paden didn’t ask any questions, just rolled off the bed and pulled his pants on.
“Ree!” Juliette’s voice was loud through the door.
“I’m coming! Hold on!” Paden threw her a shirt from her closet and pulled on a white T-shirt of his own. Ree scrambled into the long sleeved black shirt and ran to her dresser. Once she was decent, she pulled open the door and looked at Juliette’s white face.
“They’re striking back.” Juliette’s words sent a chill through Ree’s body. Paden placed a hand on her shoulder and pushed her into the hall.
“What’s happening?” Ree followed Jules as she headed toward one of the large sitting rooms. She could hear the sound of the TV and feel the anger and apprehension from her friends. Stopping in the doorway, Ree stood, staring at the large flat screen. The breaking news banner was scrolling at the bottom, listing the names of missing or dead people: Fourteen dead, six still missing. Pictures of burning houses and wrecked cars flashed before her eyes.
“The police fear that the escalating gang violence is to blame for all of the recent destruction. It was originally thought the missing teenagers involved in the downtown antique store fire were responsible, but now it seems they may have been the ones that were targeted. They are still wanted for questioning. If you have any information concerning these individuals, please contact the Savannah Metropolitan Police Department.” The reporter on the screen looked up into the camera with a serious expression. “The police are warning people to stay in their homes, to avoid answering the door for strangers, and to call them if you see anything suspicious.”
Ree’s stomach churned with anger and her fingers tingled with power. She didn’t realize she was leaking any energy until Paden moved next to her and slid his fingers between hers. She looked up into his angry eyes. He wanted to offer her assurances, but he was just as angry as she was. As they all were.
Roland came walking swiftly into the room, his cold fury radiating through the around the enclosed space. He hung up the cell phone he had been using and shoved it into his pocket. “I’m getting calls from all of the safe houses. There have been attacks on all of them. Thankfully, the shields seem to be holding, even the one that was made by Ares.”
Roland looked at Ree and Paden, but for once, she didn’t feel any of the jealousy that typically followed. Instead, anger permeated his entire body. “I’ve called some of the people we’ve marked from immortal lines. I can’t reach some of them.”
“I’ve pulled a list of all the missing people and the dead.” Melanie walked into the room, looking over the papers in her hands. “They are definitely going after the magical lines.” Mel looked up at them and grimaced. “Some of the people on the news aren’t on our list, but I think it’s fair to assume they must have been people we hadn’t come across yet.”
“They are doing to us what we did to them.” Ree clenched her hands into fists. “We have to get the rest of them out of town.”
“Ree, we can’t do that.” Roland looked at her worriedly.
“Why not, Roland?” Ree narrowed her eyes. “They need to be taken out of harm’s way. Other than the fact that I’m not okay with innocent people being killed by my monster-brother, it doesn’t make any sense to let him have more magical blood to fuel his chances against us.”
“Ree, you’re risking starting a city-wide panic!” Roland looked at her, shocked.
“So what? Damn it! We have to do something! Let the people get the hell out of here! Who cares if they know about—“ Roland was across the room in an instant, his hand pressed to her mouth.
“Ree, you cannot say that. You do not understand how much they will do to protect their secrets.” Roland leaned close and whispered in Ree’s ear. Paden growled deep in his throat before pulling Ree back away from Roland.
“Fine. Then we do it as quietly as possible.” Ree looked at Roland, wondering what had happened to make him so scared of the gods.
“Ree, there aren’t enough of us to get all of those people out of here safely.” Melanie was looking at Roland and Ree worriedly.
“Then call in backup.” Kay’s voice trailed across the room. Ree looked over at the couch where the older woman had been sitting. Such an obvious solution, that Ree wasn’t sure w
hy it hadn’t occurred to her before now.
“Yes! Backup!” Ree looked at Roland and nodded her head as if to emphasize the rightness of the solution.
“That could bring unwanted attention.” Roland rubbed a hand over the scruff on his chin.
“If this is the only way we can do it, then you need to make it happen.” Ree looked at him pleadingly. “We can’t just let them be hunted down, Roland.”
“What about the other humans?” Weylin looked over at everyone.
“They aren’t in any more jeopardy than before, it would seem. The Dark Ones seem to be targeting those with something extra in their blood.” Roland looked at the TV for a minute. “Weylin. Pause that!”
Weylin hit the pause button on the remote and looked at the screen. “Holy shit.”
Ree looked at the screen and froze. Standing in the shadows was a grinning blond young man who made Ree want to scream in horror. Tristan stood in the shadows, surrounded by a bunch of bystanders, the flames from a burning car sending wicked shadows over his smiling face.
“When did all of this start?” Ree moved to the couch, her eyes glued to the frozen image on the TV screen.
“Looks like it’s been going on for almost an hour or so.” Weylin looked from Ree to the TV. He reached over and grabbed her hand. “We’ll get him, Ree.”
She squeezed Weylin’s hand. He seemed to understand the hurt she felt at the evil her brother was committing. “That means he was out and doing this just after sundown.”
“He has become very strong.” Roland looked at the screen with a frown. “The blood from immortals is speeding his growth.”
“What do you mean?” Ree looked back at Roland. “How long does it normally take before the battle happens?”
“Sometimes months.Sometimes weeks or a year. But, this is much faster than I have seen before.”
“Months?A year?” Ree felt her mouth hang open for a minute. “Holy crap! It’s barely been a month!”
“Yes.” Roland looked at her steadily. “When do you think the battle will happen, Ree?”
Ree looked from Roland to everyone else in the room. She looked back to the flat-screen TV and frowned. Her thoughts raced over the people that had died, her parents hiding, the missing people. Her heart squeezed. Her brother had been turned into a monster. “Soon.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ree sat at Sophie’s desk and looked through all the paperwork she had been able to find. Melanie had already looked through the lists of known immortal lines, but Ree felt like there must be something they were missing. She was still working on finding backup to get the rest of the targets out of the city. Frustrated, she ran a hand through her hair and stared at the fire. Roland was insistent they not alert the general public to the actual trouble. He argued for hours with her that calling in other Guardians would send the Gods into a panic. Ree just couldn’t understand what the big deal was, but she was certain she couldn’t leave all of those people to be killed by Tristan. It was just bad strategy, anyway.
She sat up straight in her chair. Looking around the room, she narrowed her eyes.
“Athena, I would like to talk to you.” Ree didn’t raise her voice, just waited patiently to see if the goddess was listening.
“I was wondering how long you were going to avoid me.” Athena appeared next the fireplace. The goddess was tall, much taller than Ree or even Brigid. She was wearing a dark suit, her white, button -down shirt tucked around her narrow waist. Ree found herself staring at the small square glasses that perched on her nose. “You certainly have bad timing. I was in the middle of business negotiations.”
“Thank you for answering.” Ree stayed at the desk, not wanting to give up her spot of power.
“Well, some things are a little more important.” Athena’s mouth pulled to the side in a small smile. Ree was certain the goddess knew just why she wasn’t vacating the large desk chair. “Besides, it was getting a little boring. I have them right where I want them, and they are barely squirming.”
Athena pulled her glasses off and tucked them into her shirt pocket. She walked over to the table in the corner and poured an amber liquid from the decanter into a small glass. Ree knew it was alcohol, but had no idea what kind. The goddess sat down in one of the chairs facing the desk and crossed her legs. She took a sip of the drink and sighed happily.
“Sophie always did stock the best whiskey. A weakness of mine.” Athena toasted Ree before taking another sip. “So, you look at home behind that desk.”
“You mean I look frazzled and frustrated.” Ree narrowed her eyes, not sure if the goddess was teasing her or not.
“Exactly.” Athena kicked off her shoes and looked at Ree with narrowed eyes. “We should have had this talk sooner.”
“Possibly. I’ve been a little busy, however.” Ree laced her fingers together and rested her hands on the desk. “I’d like to talk to you about something important.”
“I see. So, this isn’t about you thanking me for giving you immortality?” Athena took another sip of her drink, smiling at Ree around the cup.
“Let’s be honest, Athena. You would have turned me into a toad if you thought it would have helped the situation.” Ree’s heart beat a little faster, wondering if what she was planning would blow up in her face. “I want to bring in the other Guardians.”
“I take it you do not mean your friends.”
“No. I want to call in backup.” Ree watched as Athena frowned.
“What for?” Athena stayed in the chair and gazed at Ree with bright eyes.
“I want to remove the source of Tristan’s growing strength.” Ree chose her words carefully.
“I see.” Athena continued to stare at Ree, but didn’t offer anything else.
“The more blood he ingests from the immortal lines, the stronger he becomes. He’s already wreaking havoc in the city. The more he gets, the harder he will be to beat.” Ree took a deep breath and hoped she was playing her cards right. “However, I’ve been informed the gods would not take kindly to having their existence exposed. Not even by the immortals that carry their blood.”
“So, you appeal to me to see reason.” Athena smiled slowly at Ree. “You are hoping I will see the merits of removing his food source.”
“When in war, you block a country’s trade routes. You take out its resources. This is simple strategy.” Ree tried to keep her face blank, but knew the goddess understood just how much she needed her help.
“And how do you propose we remove the humans?”
“If we can have the Guardians from other locations come help, we may be able to take them and hide them ourselves. There are houses in the center of the island. We could bring them there to stay until after the battle.” Unclenching her hands, Ree picked up the pen on the desk in front of her. “There are six more families on this list. I’d like to bring them here for safekeeping. We could settle them in the small houses easily.”
“And what will you feed those that you bring to the island?” Athena twirled the whiskey in her cup.
“Well, there is plenty of food in the kitchen…”
“Not enough to feed the twenty-two people you are suggesting bringing over.”
Ree looked down at the list in front of her and frowned. The six families remaining did add up to twenty-two people. “Perhaps you could help provide food for them the same way you do for us.”
“So, you ask me to help win over the other gods to this plan. Then you ask me to grant you a favor, by providing for the refugees.” Athena narrowed her eyes over the drink.
“Providing for your family and extended family is not a favor to me. It’s what families do for one another.” Ree narrowed her eyes at the goddess. “But, yes, I do ask that you help me convince the other gods that it would be in their best interest to remove those that are in harm’s way.”
“And what would you do for me in return?” Athena smiled when Ree’s shoulders jerked in surprise. “Is that not how favors work? I help you and you
help me?”
“I’ve already given you everything with nothing in return. You could say that was advanced payment.” Ree took a deep, slow breath.
“That’s not how negotiations work, Alastriana. You want something, you must offer something in return.” Athena set the glass down on the table next to her before leaning her head back against the chair.
“You’ve already asked something of me. Now I want something in return.” Ree gnashed her teeth together.
“Then, no. I will not help.” Athena pulled out her glasses and slipped them back on. “Now, I have a business meeting to get back to.”
“What would you ask for?” Ree’s fury was quickly accelerating.
“What do you plan on doing with yourself after the final battle?” Athena looked over her glasses at Ree, her eyes dancing with something that made Ree squirm.
“A vacation.A long vacation somewhere pretty.”
“After the vacation. What then? You can’t spend all of eternity on a beach.” Athena tilted her head to the side. “Trust me. It would be great for a little while, but you will end up bored stiff. Even with the godling to keep you company.”
“What do you have in mind?” Ree leaned back in her chair, trying to mimic the ease the goddess exuded.
“There will be clean up, of course, but we might need you again someday.” Athena narrowed her eyes at Ree. “You might need to help with a different project.”
“What type of project?”
Athena shrugged delicately. “That would have to be determined. There are lots of things going on in the world. Not just the battle you are involved in.”
“So, in other words, you want to be able to call me in for something later.” Ree rubbed the arm of her chair with her thumb as she thought it over.
“No. I want to be able to call you in anytime I need you.” Athena narrowed her eyes at Ree.
Immortal Grave (The Dark Betrayal Trilogy) Page 15
